Hike Your Own Hike by Francis Tapon is a self-help book disguised as a travelogue. Or is a travelogue disguised as a self-help book? I’m still not sure. The book doesn’t just teach you how to be a backpacker or how to hike the Appalachian Trail. It doesn’t give you a formula that says if you do A + B, C will occur. Instead, Francis uses charming anecdotes to paint a much bigger picture. It opens up your eyes to small, doable alternatives on how you can shift the current static course of your life without making dramatic changes. Francis does this by telling you how his experience hiking from Maine to Georgia can be applied to your own life.
The book offers tips that any traveler could use. For example, did you know that after a long day of climbing a mountain or exploring a new destination you can help decrease the swelling of your feet by elevating it when you’re sleeping? The book also offers life lessons that anyone, including non-backpackers and non-hikers, can use. The most important lesson this book taught me is this: “Every dollar you spend to raise your standard of living takes away a bit of your freedom. Every dollar you invest increases your freedom.” This is not to say that you have to be a cheapskate and hoard every single dollar you ever make. You have to find the right channel to invest it so that it provides you the maximum amount of freedom. Did a question mark just popped into your head? Then you need to pick up this book. Francis does a far better job at explaining this than I can.
Now this is the part you’ve been waiting for. Francis is offering TWO of my readers a chance to win a free copy of Hike Your Own Hike. You can select from one of the following versions: an ebook or an audio book. All you have to do is LIKE my Facebook page A Pair of Panties & Boxers and leave a comment on this status update telling me which version of the book you’d like to win. The contest ends March 7th at 11:59:59PM.
